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  • From the Archives

    • Daylilies

    Hemerocallis

    If you want a plant that you cannot kill, no matter how bad the conditions; no matter how much you neglect it; daylilies are for you. And they are not just those orange, tall ones you see growing everywhere. (Although, I happen to love those. Just about everyone in my family grew them, and now I do, too.) Daylilies come in a huge variety of heights and colors. You can get shorter, compact varieties (such as Stella d’Oros, which only get 12″ tall) and great big plants (such as those big old Orange Daylilies.) Daylilies also come in every color except blue and pure white. If you plant a few different cultivars, you will have cheerful blooms all summer long. Certain popular varieties, such as the ‘Stella d’Oro’ and ‘Happy Returns’ are re-bloomers, and will bloom on and off throughout the summer.


    To plant daylilies, just dig the hole deep enough so that the crown of the plant is no more than one inch below the soil’s surface. Adding compost or manure to the soil will give you better growth and flower production, but it isn’t necessary. Water it in well, and keep watering until it is established. Established daylilies don’t need supplemental water. To feed, you can top dress the surrounding soil with compost or manure, or sprinkle a little granular fertilizer around the base of the plant. I also like to foliar-feed mine with diluted fish emulsion. It is a good idea to mulch your daylilies to discourage weeds.

    Daylilies look best planted in clumps or drifts. Even if they’re not blooming, the foliage is very attractive, and a good backdrop to other plants. I have the traditional orange daylilies planted in my yard with some “Blue Victoria” salvia and “Blue Boy” bachelor’s buttons planted in front, and I just love the combination of orange and blue. If you’re a container gardener, the smaller varieties do very well in pots.

    If you want to, daylilies can be divided every three to five years to increase the vigor of the plants. (Again, this isn’t necessary. If you like the way they’re looking, leave them alone!) To divide daylilies, dig up a clump. You don’t have to dig very deep, since daylily roots are pretty shallow. In your clump, you will see several separate fans, each of which can be its own plant. To separate fans from the clump, use a knife to cut them off the main plant, making sure there are some roots attached to the fan. You can plant these divisions and have plenty of new daylilies. And, again, showing the ease of dealing with daylilies, you can divide them any time during the growing season.

    I have a story that will illustrate how death-defying daylilies are. The spring after my oldest daughter was born, I went to the nursery and bought a package that contained the roots for thirteen daylily plants, with the plan of filling out one of my beds in the backyard. Well, needless to say, with a new baby, my daylilies were soon forgotten. I set them on a workbench in my basement, and I didn’t remember until several weeks later that they were there. The foliage had begun to emerge, growing white in the peat moss that the roots were packed in. I went through them, and found seven that were not completely rotted (just mostly.) I planted them, not expecting much. They grew! Two of the seven even bloomed that first summer, and they are all still in my garden, growing happily. Amazing!

    So, if you have less than ideal conditions, or maybe more garden dreams than gardening time, plant a few daylilies. Hey, even if you have the best conditions, and plenty of time, still go ahead and plant some. They are a beautiful addition to any garden.